Tacoma Urban Sketchers at the Maritime Fest at the Foss Waterway Museum

Tacoma Urban Sketchers are showing some of their works depicting a maritime theme at the Foss Waterway Museum from July 28 through August 28. During the Maritime Fest, July 28 from 10 am to 5 pm and July 29, from 10 am to 4 pm, Urban Sketchers will be working at the Museum and surroundings. Take a look at the images with this story.

During the Maritime Fest the Museum is open Saturday, July 28, from 10 am to 6 pm; and Sunday, July 29, from 10 am to 5 pm; admission is free.

Beginning August 1, normal Museum hours are Wednesday through Saturday from 10 to 4 and Sunday from noon to 4. Admission is free for Seaport members and children under 5 years old; $10 for adults; $8 for children under 5, students, military and seniors 62+.

Urban Sketchers was first organized in Seattle by Seattle Times author Gabi Campanario in 2009. The Tacoma group grew out of that. The whole idea of Urban Sketcher is to draw the places you find interesting, showing some identifiable to the location.

I’ve been to a few of the Urban Sketchers events on Saturdays. The first one I attended was at the Main Branch of Tacoma Public Library, then the Skansie Brothers Net Shed in Gig Harbor (the most interesting to me), Spooner Farms, the Ruston Way parks, and a few others.

The first Urban Sketchers event I went to was at the downtown branch of the Tacoma Public Library. I was very intimidated by the Sketchers. I’ve messed around with calligraphy and some colored pencil and watercolor sketches as well as cartoony things, but never anything I thought was art that deserved quote marks around it. But my best friend and art buddy Kathryn Whitacre had been several times and picked me up saying, “You’ll love it.”

We met in the main branch lobby and spread out all over the building and surrounding area. The downtown branch has beautiful windows on the second floor at the main entrance and a gorgeous rotunda in the Northwest Room in the original Carnegie Library.

I thought that I’d try that but there were so many sketchers that I followed Kathryn out to her car parked across from the entrance. I had a wonderful view of the front of the front of the building with Tacoma Public Library reflected backwards in the plate glass windows of the empty storefronts.

I attempted to get the reflected letters right as well as the beautiful wrought iron gate and stately window trim on the storefronts. I was pleased with my viewpoint. It was not too complicated, I did something and came out with some ideas of how to improve.

The Skansie Brothers Net Shed at the waterfront park in Gig Harbor was the most interesting. The structure is an historical building that the Skansie Brothers dried their nets in after coming in from fishing. The shed is small but had a small deck on the waterside. It’s full of interesting things: nets, floats, tools, and lots more.

I sat on the deck and sketched a corner with nets on the railings with orange and blue floats, waves of nets and a few of the waterfront. It was very peaceful. As usual, all the sketchers got together to see everyone’s work. Many sketchers are true artists but everyone is learning and improving. It was truly inspirational.

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Comments

Thank you for helping to tell our community about Maritime Fest and our exhibition of ship and waterfront themed sketches. I’d like to make sure everyone knows we will have 6 people sketching both Saturday and Sunday the whole time the museum is open. Come down if you’d like to join us sketching or just watch us.